An electric vehicle (EV) refers to any vehicle that can be powered by an electric motor. More specifically, a battery pack of the EV can provide a current to the electric motor, which in turn can propel the EV. The battery pack can include a plurality of battery cells, such as lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery cells. One example of an EV is a hybrid EV (HEV). An HEV typically includes an internal combustion engine, which can be used to periodically recharge the battery pack and/or to periodically propel the vehicle, thereby extending the range of the vehicle.
Another example of an EV is a battery electric vehicle (BEV). A BEV is a battery-only vehicle and thus does not include an internal combustion engine. Both BEVs and a specific type of HEVs (plug-in HEVs, or PHEVs), can recharge their battery packs with residential electrical power using, for example, an external charging unit. A user can plug the external charging unit into a BEV or PHEV to enable charging, provided other conditions are satisfied, e.g., the BEV or PHEV is in park and is turned off. The battery pack of the BEV or the PHEV can then be recharged during a recharging period, e.g., overnight.